In general, depending on a driving means, a rack-and-pinion-type dovetail groove sliding stage or a feed-screw-type dovetail groove sliding stage is used as a dovetail groove sliding stage for performing positional adjustment of a precision apparatus. A rack-and-pinion-type dovetail groove sliding stage has a mechanism in which positional adjustment of a precision apparatus is performed by rotation of a pinion gear, which is one of a pair of engaged driving means consisting of a rack and a pinion gear, by means of a control knob, to cause a rack, the other of the pair, to travel straight, thereby sliding the sliding component. In addition, a feed-screw-type dovetail groove sliding stage has a mechanism in which positional adjustment of a precision apparatus is performed by rotation of a male-threaded rod, one of a pair of engaged driving means consisting of the male-threaded rod and a female-threaded cylinder, by means of a control knob, to cause the mail-threaded rod to travel straight, thereby sliding the sliding component.
With reference to FIG. 2 of Japanese Patent No. 4606501, a driving means for a rack-and-pinion type dovetail groove sliding stage is described. The driving means by a rack and a pinion gear is a driving means in which a rack (symbol 1 in FIG. 2 of Japanese Patent No. 4606501) fixed to a sliding component is engaged with a pinion gear (symbol 14 of the same) in which a control knob and a revolving shaft are connected to be identical and which is supported by a fixed component, and upon rotation of the control knob (symbol 9 of the same), the pinion gear interlockingly rotates to slide on the rack and the sliding component slides with respect to the fixed component. Specifically, the control knob is mounted in a direction intersecting a sliding direction of the sliding component. Combined with a sliding mechanism referred to as a dovetail groove type stage, to be described below, the rack-and-pinion-type manual stage is a driving means which slides about 18 mm in one turn of the control knob and is suitable when a quick, wide motion is needed.
With reference to FIG. 22 of Japanese Patent No. 4606501, a driving means for a feed-screw-type dovetail groove sliding stage is described. A feed-screw-type driving means is a sliding means for sliding a sliding component with respect to a fixed component by engaging a female-threaded cylinder (symbol 306 in FIG. 22 of Japanese Patent No. 4606501) connected to a rear face of a sliding component to which a precision apparatus is mounted with a male-threaded rod (symbol 307 of the same) penetrating a block fixed to the fixed component connected to a base, and rotating the male-threaded rod through operation of a control knob (symbol 309 of the same). Specifically, the control knob is fixed in a same direction as a sliding direction of the sliding component. Combined with a sliding mechanism referred to as a dovetail groove type stage, to be described below, the feed-screw-type manual stage is a driving means which slides about 4.2 mm in one turn of the control knob, and is suitable when load bearing is required and fine adjustment is needed.
With reference to FIG. 1 of Japanese Patent No. 4505535, a sliding mechanism by a dovetail groove is described. In general, in a rack-and-pinion-type dovetail groove sliding stage and a feed-screw-type dovetail groove sliding stage, a dovetail groove type sliding stage is used as a sliding mechanism for smoothly sliding a sliding component with respect to a fixed component. A dovetail groove type sliding stage refers to a stage in which a sliding component having a trapezoidally-projecting dovetail (symbol 2 in FIG. 1 of Japanese Patent No. 4606501) is fitted into a fixed component having a trapezoidally-recessed dovetail groove (symbol 3 of the same), so that the sliding component smoothly slides with respect to the fixed component.
With reference to FIG. 3 of Japanese Patent No. 4505535, a stopper mechanism is described which locks sliding of a sliding component at a desired position in a dovetail groove manual stage and sets a position of a precision apparatus attached to the sliding component. A sliding lock screw (symbol 10 in FIG. 3 of Japanese Patent No. 4505535) is fixed to a side surface of a fixed component, and a groove (symbol 32 of the same) is provided so that an inverted triangle-shaped protrusion (symbol 31 of the same) is formed on a side of a dovetail groove of the fixed component. Then, a sliding lock screw tip abuts from the groove against the protrusion to incline the protrusion inward, holding down a dovetail of the sliding component fitted into the dovetail groove of the fixed component, and thereby fixing the position of the sliding component with respect to the fixed component.